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All "Shut Up And Drive" episodes have features some sort of Lexus sheetmetal. Photo by Shut Up And Drive

Watch pro racers go head to head -- on public roads -- in ‘Shut Up and Drive’

Lexus-sponsored show makes pro drivers battle on great driving roads

April 29, 2015

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“Shut Up and Drive” on Fox Sports 1 might be the greatest car show you’re not watching. Does it feel a bit like a Lexus commercial? Sure. Is it still fun to watch pro drivers trading punches on great American driving roads (that are closed to the public)? Of course it is.

Episode three of season three premieres Sunday, May 3 at 3:30 p.m. Eastern.

“SUAD,” as the insiders call it, began in 2012 with an idea in Fox Sports VP of motorsport Bobby Akin’s head. Akin is a car guy and former racer, grabbing the torch from his father Bob Akin, who was a championship driver in his own right. At the same time, Lexus was looking for a place to ply its wares. Both Akin and Lexus were thinking about great driving roads, and what the pair could do with the resources at their disposal.

Akin knew Derek Bell and son Justin through his father’s racing career. The younger Bell, also a racer, was eventually tapped to co-host the show. Bell was also an on-air commentator for Fox Sports, which gave him the two skills he needed to host “SUAD.”

Townsend Bell, no relation, floated around the same racing circles, and like Justin, was both a world-class driver and an on-air talent. With that, the roster was solidified.

“SUAD” began with the producers picking great driving roads, but after a few episodes, fans began suggesting their own favorite strips of tarmac. The producers eventually would clear three great locations, and let fans vote on where they’d ultimately go.

That has led them to Palm Beach, Fla., Mount Tamalpais in California and the Valley of Fire outside Las Vegas, among other places.

The thing about racing drivers is that they get busy quickly and with little warning. So, for this Sunday’s show, Townsend is out and drifter Rhys Millen is in. Millen and the other Bell will take on Colorado’s winding Highway 141.

Because the show isn’t a consistent series -- it’s aired about nine episodes since its inception -- it’s hard to find a loyal viewer base. But Akin told us that each show has had more viewers than the last, which has to be a good sign. He also told us that he’s not against other racers joining the show either, and that we could probably expect a few more familiar faces in the future.

Go to the Fox Sports website to watch full episodes, and tune in this Sunday to see Millen and Bell compete on the back roads of the Colorado countryside.